Football: The Huskies defeated the Buffalo Bulls yesterday 17-3 to improve to 2-2 on the season. Johnny McEntee finally came through in a game, going 12-21 for 213 yards and throwing two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the game was not viewable on SNY due to the Mets' doubleheader, so nobody could watch it in the area. The Huskies are home next Saturday at 3:30 to face Western Michigan.
Men's Soccer: In front of a sold-out crowd of over 5,000 fans at Morrone Stadium, the Huskies defeated the #12 St. John's Red Storm 2-0. From what I could see on Huskies All-Access, that crowd was LOUD. It was overloading the crowd mike. Or the crowd mike could have been broken. I really don't know. But it never did that before. As for the game, it remained scoreless for the first 73 minutes, and many Husky fans feared the two rivals would battle to a scoreless draw again. Allando Matheson scored at 73:17 though to put the Huskies up 1-0. With 37 seconds to go in the contest, Mamadou Doudou Diouf did what he's been doing all season, scoring a goal to put the Huskies up 2-0 and send the Red Storm home packing. I saw the crowd, and the game. That was an electrifying atmosphere. Let's hope the athletic department can get the same kind of excitement for some game next year when I'm on campus. If we host Notre Dame on a Saturday, they'd likely do it for that game I'd suspect. And we will host them. Waaaay to early to think about that though. Just wishful thinking by me. Additionally, expect the Huskies to be #1 when the polls come out, thanks to the Maryland draw to Seton Hall. (Queue WE'RE #1 Chant!) Our first chance to defend our number 1 ranking is Wednesday at 7:30 PM as we host in-state rival Yale. On Saturday, October 1 we have our biggest road test of the year, traveling to face Louisville. The Cardinals were ranked #3 in the country but lost to Notre Dame last night. The Cardinals don't want to start 0-2 in the Big East, so they will come out firing on all cylinders. Additionally, I could see the Yale game as a "trap game" for us. We'll be looking ahead to the Louisville game to defend our #1 ranking, and just assuming we're beating Yale to get to that point. And we've seen from many times what happens to our soccer team when they just assume they'll win the game. Like against Brown in the tournament. Or how we barely snuck by BU last week in our first game at #2. I'm not saying it will happen, but I wouldn't be too surprised if we wound up tying, or even losing, to Yale.
Field Hockey: The Huskies rolled to victory against Providence yesterday, 4-0. Chloe Hunnable scored a hat trick. The Huskies are 2-0 in Big East play and 7-1 overall. The polls come out today, but the #4 ranking will likely not change.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies host Cincinnati at 1:00 PM today. Video is available on Huskies All-Access. Next weekend is big for the Huskies. A nationally televised game at Notre Dame at 7:30 PM on Friday, September 30th will air on ESPNU. And on Sunday the 2nd, they'll be at DePaul at 2:00 PM.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies travel to Louisville to face the top-tier Cardinals this afternoon at 2:00 PM. Stream status on Louisville's website is unclear. Some places says it's there, others say it's not. Gametracker will be live at game time for sure though.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Husky Sports Roundup September 24, 2011
Football: The Huskies travel to Buffalo tonight to face the Buffalo Bulls. The Huskies are 1-2 while Buffalo has the same record. The Huskies will look to turn the season around tonight. Kickoff is at 6:00 PM on SNY and Big East Regional Television.
Men's Soccer: WHITE OUT tonight at home vs. St. John's. The game is SOLD OUT. The Red Storm are #12 in the country and we are #2. With the Maryland draw earlier this week, we could be #1 if we win. Huge Goal Patrol meeting at 6 PM. Too bad I'm not on campus now. For the most part I've come to deal with the fact that I'm not at school this semester. It's going to be hard tonight. But at least I can watch it online. Video streaming is available on Huskies All-Access and audio on WHUS.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats 3-0 in a sweep. The Huskies are 0-1 in the Big East and will take on Louisville on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. Next weekend, the Huskies will be back at home, with a pair of games against Marquette (October 1, 2:00 PM) and Syracuse (October 2, 2:00 PM).
Women's Soccer: The Huskies tied Louiville 2-2 in double overtime. The game was an action-packed contest with the teams totaling 18 shots in the second half alone. The Huskies are 4-4-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the Big East. Next up, the team will face Cincinnati on 1 PM Saturday.
Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies drew McGill 2-2 in an exhibition thanks to a goal from Maggie Walsh with 18 seconds left in regulation. The Martlets dominated the game, though, outshooting the Huskies 43-19. On a side note, the obvious questionz: what is a martlet? Apparenty it's a stylized drawing of a bird with feathered tufts instead of legs. Huh?
Field Hockey: The Huskies will travel to Providence at 1:00 PM today. We are ranked #4 in the country and are 1-0 in the Big East. This is the Friars' conference opener.
UPDATE 3:08 PM EDT; UConn defeated Providence in Field Hockey 4-0. Anne Jeute scored a goal 3:13 into the first half, while Chloe Hunnable recorded three goals of her own as the Huskies rolled to victory. Next up, the Huskies will host the UMass Minutewomen on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM. At that point, I will be in synagogue at Erev Rosh Hashanah services. I will be in Temple for the better part of Wednesday evening to Friday afternoon, though the holiday will end well in time for me to watch the UConn-Notre Dame women's soccer game on ESPNU Friday night. Whether a Yankees postseason game conflicts it, remains to be seen however. In any case, don't expect any posts from Wednesday night to Friday evening. Maybe something as I'm watching the UConn-ND game just to catch up. If not, I'll probably post something later that night, although it depends on the Yankees playoff game too.
On a side note, "Minutewomen" is the extreme form of political correctness. It's not a word, just a way to avoid seeming sexist. But in fact, it's even more sexist, if anything, not to mention stupid. If Joe D from WTIC were to refer to Geno Auriemma's defense as "woman to woman", he would be ridiculed, and maybe even fired if he did it often enough. And when I went to the softball game and Amy DeLuca batted, they said "Now batting, the third baseman, number 18, Amy DeLuca". Is it sexist to call her that because it's a masculine term? Likewise, "Minuteman" is a generic term, it's been around since the American Revolution. Granted, there were few (if any) women in the militia then, and we don't exactly have a citizen's militia anymore. So the only time there were ever any female "Minutemen" was when UMass played a sporting contest. And UMass field hockey team is fighting the Huskies on Wednesday, not the Redcoats. So it's not the same thing. Nevertheless, if I had to think of an example of political correctness so ridiculous it couldn't possibly true, "Minutewoman" would be a good place to start. Except it is true. I'm glad I'll be at shul Wednesday. If I were watching the webstream of the game, I'd burst out laughing every time I hear the PA say "Penalty Corner, Minutewomen".
On a side note, the Delta State Statesmen came up with a completely different solution to the "men" nickname issue. Their teams are the Statesmen and the Lady Statesmen. I'm not sure which one is worse.
Men's Soccer: WHITE OUT tonight at home vs. St. John's. The game is SOLD OUT. The Red Storm are #12 in the country and we are #2. With the Maryland draw earlier this week, we could be #1 if we win. Huge Goal Patrol meeting at 6 PM. Too bad I'm not on campus now. For the most part I've come to deal with the fact that I'm not at school this semester. It's going to be hard tonight. But at least I can watch it online. Video streaming is available on Huskies All-Access and audio on WHUS.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats 3-0 in a sweep. The Huskies are 0-1 in the Big East and will take on Louisville on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. Next weekend, the Huskies will be back at home, with a pair of games against Marquette (October 1, 2:00 PM) and Syracuse (October 2, 2:00 PM).
Women's Soccer: The Huskies tied Louiville 2-2 in double overtime. The game was an action-packed contest with the teams totaling 18 shots in the second half alone. The Huskies are 4-4-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the Big East. Next up, the team will face Cincinnati on 1 PM Saturday.
Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies drew McGill 2-2 in an exhibition thanks to a goal from Maggie Walsh with 18 seconds left in regulation. The Martlets dominated the game, though, outshooting the Huskies 43-19. On a side note, the obvious questionz: what is a martlet? Apparenty it's a stylized drawing of a bird with feathered tufts instead of legs. Huh?
Field Hockey: The Huskies will travel to Providence at 1:00 PM today. We are ranked #4 in the country and are 1-0 in the Big East. This is the Friars' conference opener.
UPDATE 3:08 PM EDT; UConn defeated Providence in Field Hockey 4-0. Anne Jeute scored a goal 3:13 into the first half, while Chloe Hunnable recorded three goals of her own as the Huskies rolled to victory. Next up, the Huskies will host the UMass Minutewomen on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM. At that point, I will be in synagogue at Erev Rosh Hashanah services. I will be in Temple for the better part of Wednesday evening to Friday afternoon, though the holiday will end well in time for me to watch the UConn-Notre Dame women's soccer game on ESPNU Friday night. Whether a Yankees postseason game conflicts it, remains to be seen however. In any case, don't expect any posts from Wednesday night to Friday evening. Maybe something as I'm watching the UConn-ND game just to catch up. If not, I'll probably post something later that night, although it depends on the Yankees playoff game too.
On a side note, "Minutewomen" is the extreme form of political correctness. It's not a word, just a way to avoid seeming sexist. But in fact, it's even more sexist, if anything, not to mention stupid. If Joe D from WTIC were to refer to Geno Auriemma's defense as "woman to woman", he would be ridiculed, and maybe even fired if he did it often enough. And when I went to the softball game and Amy DeLuca batted, they said "Now batting, the third baseman, number 18, Amy DeLuca". Is it sexist to call her that because it's a masculine term? Likewise, "Minuteman" is a generic term, it's been around since the American Revolution. Granted, there were few (if any) women in the militia then, and we don't exactly have a citizen's militia anymore. So the only time there were ever any female "Minutemen" was when UMass played a sporting contest. And UMass field hockey team is fighting the Huskies on Wednesday, not the Redcoats. So it's not the same thing. Nevertheless, if I had to think of an example of political correctness so ridiculous it couldn't possibly true, "Minutewoman" would be a good place to start. Except it is true. I'm glad I'll be at shul Wednesday. If I were watching the webstream of the game, I'd burst out laughing every time I hear the PA say "Penalty Corner, Minutewomen".
On a side note, the Delta State Statesmen came up with a completely different solution to the "men" nickname issue. Their teams are the Statesmen and the Lady Statesmen. I'm not sure which one is worse.
Friday, September 23, 2011
UConn Sports Roundup, September 23, 2011
Husky news and notes from today
Women's Soccer: The Huskies continue Big East play with a pair of games this weekend. First, they face the Louisville Cardinals tonight at 7:00 PM. Video will be available on Huskies All-Access, and WHUS will be doing the audio. Next, the Huskies will host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday at 1:00 PM. That game will also be on All-Access. The Cardinals are 1-0-1 in the Big East and 3-4-2 overall, tying them for second in the National Division. Cincy is 1-1-0 and 5-3-2 overall. The Huskies are also 1-1-0 in Big East play, plus 4-4-0 overall. They are one game behind West Virginia and Marquette in the American Division. On next Friday night (the 30th) the Huskies will head to South Bend to face Notre Dame in a matchup televised by ESPNU. That will be big.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies are in Cincinnati tonight at 7:30 PM before traveling to Louisville Sunday at 2:00 PM. This is the first two Big East games of the season. The Cincinnati game will be available on the Bearcats' website for viewing. Ditto for the Louisville game and the Cards' site.
Men's Soccer: The Huskies will face their archrival #12 ranked St. John's Red Storm on Saturday night in front of a predicted sell-out. Only 500 tickets remain so buy soon. And wear white since it's a White Out. For those unable to attend, tune into WHUS or Huskies All-Access. Also, it is Family Weekend. Any families reading this who think they might want to attend the game, buy your tickets NOW. Otherwise, you won't get them. I think if UConn wanted to encourage families to come over Family Weekend, they should let them know it's going to be a sell-out (since usually you can just get tickets there). The Family Weekend website doesn't even list ticket prices. This could be intentionally marketing towards fans as opposed to families. But if it's not, and they want families to go, they're doing a bad job. Any way, if you don't know if you want to go and are unwilling to buy seats in advance, there are two women's games this weekend, plus several other contests around campus (volleyball, ice hockey). Those are valuable options too. Consider them. They can be fun. They won't be as crowded as Morrone Stadium on Saturday night, but if you want to watch a UConn game, go for it. They're fun too. If you want to know why, read the rest of my blog. Update: As I wrote this, I was updated that the St. John's game is now SOLD OUT. Let's hope all the season ticket holders actually show up, or if they can't, give/sell their tickets to a friend. To any season ticket holder who can't go for whatever reason, please let someone else have your tickets. Give them to a friend, or sell them. But let Morrone Stadium be packed.
Women's Ice Hockey: The women's ice hockey team plays their first and only exhibition contest of the season against McGill tonight at 7 PM. McGill is a Canadain University, and they will frequently compete against American schools in exhibition games. McGill may be the Harvard of Canada, but as Lisa Simpson says, "Anything that's the something of the something isn't really anything at all". I love that quote, by the way. But as for the game, it's just an exhibition. The real fun starts next weekend, with games on Friday, September 30th and Saturday, October 1st against RPI. You can't help but love RPI's nickname. They're the Engineers. Even Cal Tech came up with a vaguely fierce nickname. Beavers may not be fiercely competitive creatures, but at least they're not nerds. Then again, from what some of my friends in the School of Engineering tell me, it can get quite competitive there. Perhaps the RPI Engineering Majors? Still, I think the New College of Florida has the most unusual athletic nickname out there - the Empty Set. When the college was created, they put a pair of empty brackets in the charter to choose a nickname at a little time. But eventually, they dropped all varsity athletic teams. Now, the Empty Set has become a symbol of New College, and is also used by several club teams. In fact, their career services blog is called "Filling the Empty Set", perhaps as a reference to to getting a job as well.
Football: The Huskies travel to Buffalo, tomorrow at 6 PM. Hopefully the Huskies can get on the right path with a win over the lowly Bulls. But hopefully they should have beaten Vandy and Iowa State and that didn't happen. So I'm not counting on it. If we had a remotely competent QB, we could be amazing. We don't. At the same time, I'm not counting this season out yet. Last year, we started 1-2 including a loss at Temple. Everyone said we were done. Then, we started 3-4 after losses to Rutgers and Louisville. Everyone said we were done. Then came a Dave Teggart kick against West Virginia in OT and everything changed. Anything could happen.
Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they travel to Rhode Island to face Providence. The Huskies are 1-0 in the Big East and 6-1 overall. The Friars are 3-6 overall and this will be their Big East opener. The Huskies will go on to host UMass on Wednesday at 7:00 PM and Louisville on Saturday the 1st of October at noon.
Note: You may have noticed this post contains more rambling and analysis about various subjects rather than just straight UConn facts. I kind of prefer this format, so I think I'll stick with it. It's always what I intended this blog to be, it just rarely worked out that way. For those who liked the abbreviated version, I will be posting a shorter (more cut-an-dry) version of these on the UConn fan message board The Boneyard. How much detail I go in there is subject to feeback (unlike the format of these posts which I will do as I like to do). You can view today's here. I won't always link, but I may sometimes. I'd recommend joining the site in general.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies continue Big East play with a pair of games this weekend. First, they face the Louisville Cardinals tonight at 7:00 PM. Video will be available on Huskies All-Access, and WHUS will be doing the audio. Next, the Huskies will host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday at 1:00 PM. That game will also be on All-Access. The Cardinals are 1-0-1 in the Big East and 3-4-2 overall, tying them for second in the National Division. Cincy is 1-1-0 and 5-3-2 overall. The Huskies are also 1-1-0 in Big East play, plus 4-4-0 overall. They are one game behind West Virginia and Marquette in the American Division. On next Friday night (the 30th) the Huskies will head to South Bend to face Notre Dame in a matchup televised by ESPNU. That will be big.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies are in Cincinnati tonight at 7:30 PM before traveling to Louisville Sunday at 2:00 PM. This is the first two Big East games of the season. The Cincinnati game will be available on the Bearcats' website for viewing. Ditto for the Louisville game and the Cards' site.
Men's Soccer: The Huskies will face their archrival #12 ranked St. John's Red Storm on Saturday night in front of a predicted sell-out. Only 500 tickets remain so buy soon. And wear white since it's a White Out. For those unable to attend, tune into WHUS or Huskies All-Access. Also, it is Family Weekend. Any families reading this who think they might want to attend the game, buy your tickets NOW. Otherwise, you won't get them. I think if UConn wanted to encourage families to come over Family Weekend, they should let them know it's going to be a sell-out (since usually you can just get tickets there). The Family Weekend website doesn't even list ticket prices. This could be intentionally marketing towards fans as opposed to families. But if it's not, and they want families to go, they're doing a bad job. Any way, if you don't know if you want to go and are unwilling to buy seats in advance, there are two women's games this weekend, plus several other contests around campus (volleyball, ice hockey). Those are valuable options too. Consider them. They can be fun. They won't be as crowded as Morrone Stadium on Saturday night, but if you want to watch a UConn game, go for it. They're fun too. If you want to know why, read the rest of my blog. Update: As I wrote this, I was updated that the St. John's game is now SOLD OUT. Let's hope all the season ticket holders actually show up, or if they can't, give/sell their tickets to a friend. To any season ticket holder who can't go for whatever reason, please let someone else have your tickets. Give them to a friend, or sell them. But let Morrone Stadium be packed.
Women's Ice Hockey: The women's ice hockey team plays their first and only exhibition contest of the season against McGill tonight at 7 PM. McGill is a Canadain University, and they will frequently compete against American schools in exhibition games. McGill may be the Harvard of Canada, but as Lisa Simpson says, "Anything that's the something of the something isn't really anything at all". I love that quote, by the way. But as for the game, it's just an exhibition. The real fun starts next weekend, with games on Friday, September 30th and Saturday, October 1st against RPI. You can't help but love RPI's nickname. They're the Engineers. Even Cal Tech came up with a vaguely fierce nickname. Beavers may not be fiercely competitive creatures, but at least they're not nerds. Then again, from what some of my friends in the School of Engineering tell me, it can get quite competitive there. Perhaps the RPI Engineering Majors? Still, I think the New College of Florida has the most unusual athletic nickname out there - the Empty Set. When the college was created, they put a pair of empty brackets in the charter to choose a nickname at a little time. But eventually, they dropped all varsity athletic teams. Now, the Empty Set has become a symbol of New College, and is also used by several club teams. In fact, their career services blog is called "Filling the Empty Set", perhaps as a reference to to getting a job as well.
Football: The Huskies travel to Buffalo, tomorrow at 6 PM. Hopefully the Huskies can get on the right path with a win over the lowly Bulls. But hopefully they should have beaten Vandy and Iowa State and that didn't happen. So I'm not counting on it. If we had a remotely competent QB, we could be amazing. We don't. At the same time, I'm not counting this season out yet. Last year, we started 1-2 including a loss at Temple. Everyone said we were done. Then, we started 3-4 after losses to Rutgers and Louisville. Everyone said we were done. Then came a Dave Teggart kick against West Virginia in OT and everything changed. Anything could happen.
Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they travel to Rhode Island to face Providence. The Huskies are 1-0 in the Big East and 6-1 overall. The Friars are 3-6 overall and this will be their Big East opener. The Huskies will go on to host UMass on Wednesday at 7:00 PM and Louisville on Saturday the 1st of October at noon.
Note: You may have noticed this post contains more rambling and analysis about various subjects rather than just straight UConn facts. I kind of prefer this format, so I think I'll stick with it. It's always what I intended this blog to be, it just rarely worked out that way. For those who liked the abbreviated version, I will be posting a shorter (more cut-an-dry) version of these on the UConn fan message board The Boneyard. How much detail I go in there is subject to feeback (unlike the format of these posts which I will do as I like to do). You can view today's here. I won't always link, but I may sometimes. I'd recommend joining the site in general.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
UConn Sports Roundup, September 21, 2011
Men's soccer: The #2 Huskies improved to 7-0-0 on the year with a 2-0 victory over the #10 Boston College 2-0. Carlos Alvarez and Tony Cascio added goals. A good road win for the Huskies against a prominent opponent. Next up, we face our archnemisis St. John's Saturday night at Morrone Stadium. A huge sell-out crowd is expected for this one. To any students on campus, go to Memorial Stadium at 6:00 PM for a Goal Patrol meeting and lots of free stuff. This should be a great game. On an unrelated note, Red Storm has got to be the stupidest nickname this side of Orange. They decided "Redmen" wasn't PC so they tried to get cute with it. Blech. Aditionally, #1 Maryland drew 0-0 to Seton Hall, so we could be ranked #1 next week.
Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies were picked to finish fifth in the Hockey East preseason poll out of eight teams. Boston University finished first with 55 votes, including six first place votes. UConn received 30. The team will open up on Friday night with an exhibition vs. McGill at 7:00 PM.
Men's Ice Hockey: UConn was picked to finish fifth in Atlantic Hockey this season's poll. UConn reached the AHA semifinals last year and will look to improve. Once one of the worst programs in the country, the Huskies seek to increase their talent. They will open with an exhibition vs. Ryerson on October 1 at 8:00 PM.
Field Hockey: In spite of their loss to BC over the weekend, the Huskies are still ranked #4 in the latest poll. UConn received 720 votes, but Old Dominion received all 47 first place votes.
Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies were picked to finish fifth in the Hockey East preseason poll out of eight teams. Boston University finished first with 55 votes, including six first place votes. UConn received 30. The team will open up on Friday night with an exhibition vs. McGill at 7:00 PM.
Men's Ice Hockey: UConn was picked to finish fifth in Atlantic Hockey this season's poll. UConn reached the AHA semifinals last year and will look to improve. Once one of the worst programs in the country, the Huskies seek to increase their talent. They will open with an exhibition vs. Ryerson on October 1 at 8:00 PM.
Field Hockey: In spite of their loss to BC over the weekend, the Huskies are still ranked #4 in the latest poll. UConn received 720 votes, but Old Dominion received all 47 first place votes.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
An Analysis of Conference Realignment, Part 1 - Super-ACC Plus Revised Big East
So now multiple reports are surfacing that UConn will join a Super-ACC Power Conference. There are many ways this could move forward and I will outline a few of the ones I think are possible. As a disclaimer, I may have gotten many of these ideas at least in part from some other people. If I don't give you credit, I apologize. It's hard to recognize where a single idea or theory begins and where it stops being your idea and mine and you may have planted the idea in my head, or not. If something you said triggered something in my mind, feel free to take credit in the comments, but since all thoughts tend to build on other thoughts, it would be impossible to account for all of them.
Scenario 1 - Two Division, 16-team Super-ACC plus Big East revolution
The most likely, scenario, in my opinion, is a 16-team Super-ACC for all sports, plus a completely new look Big East, which will be very watered down and not involve UConn.
First, let's look how the ACC will look. Some entries may be marked with a [*] which means I will discuss them further down the page.
In any case, here would be essentially the layout.
North Division:
South Division
Fairly organized by geography, plain and simple. Now, let's look at who that leaves in the Big East. Non football schools are indicated by an (NF)
This leaves 12 schools, but only five football schools. Baylor and Iowa State have expressed interested in joining if the Big 12 collapses, which it looks like it will ultimately. Kansas and Missouri could also join. At the very least, with so many teams in the Midwest, the conference would probably change its name. It could be interesting to see how things play out. But since this is a UConn blog, let us focus more on the ACC end of the scenario.
First, to address the [*] next to Rutgers/St. John's/Navy. The next question is how seriously the ACC wants to take football as opposed to basketball. Rutgers is at the bottom of the league in hoops and football. St. John's has a great basketball program but no football team. So do you add Rutgers or St. John's? Rutgers could fill the league out. Another scenario is add St. John's, plus add Navy (or Army) as a football associate member to balance the numbers. I'd like to see the last one play out, but I doubt it. I'd definitely like St. John's though. They are a more major sports school than Rutgers. Also, it would allow the sixth best college soccer rivalry in America to stay in tact as the Huskies can continue to face the Red Storm every year. That being said, I am not so naive as to think the ACC actually cares about a sport that doesn't generate revenue. But there are other reasons to support the Red Storm too, as I said. And adding Navy for football would give us one of the most historic programs in the country. They're probably not at the level of other schools, but they're an up-coming program. I think they'd welcome an opportunity to join a conference. Both service academies compete in the Patriot League for other sports, but are FBS Independents for football. At various points, they have been associate members of various conferences, so it's hardly a novel concept.
This is just one of many ways it could play out ion the coming days. I will continue to outline a few other possible scenarios, so stay tuned.
Scenario 1 - Two Division, 16-team Super-ACC plus Big East revolution
The most likely, scenario, in my opinion, is a 16-team Super-ACC for all sports, plus a completely new look Big East, which will be very watered down and not involve UConn.
First, let's look how the ACC will look. Some entries may be marked with a [*] which means I will discuss them further down the page.
In any case, here would be essentially the layout.
North Division:
- Connecticut
- Syracuse
- Boston College
- Pittsburgh
- Maryland
- Rutgers/St. John's/Navy [*]
- Virginia
- Virginia Tech
South Division
- Duke
- North Carolina
- NC State
- Georgia Tech
- Florida State
- Miami (FL)
- Clemson
- Wake Forest
Fairly organized by geography, plain and simple. Now, let's look at who that leaves in the Big East. Non football schools are indicated by an (NF)
- Cincinnati
- Louisville
- Notre Dame (FBS Independent)
- TCU
- South Florida
- DePaul (NF)
- West Virginia
- Georgetown (NF)
- Marquette (NF)
- Providence (NF)
- Seton Hall (NF)
- Villanova (NF)
- TCU
This leaves 12 schools, but only five football schools. Baylor and Iowa State have expressed interested in joining if the Big 12 collapses, which it looks like it will ultimately. Kansas and Missouri could also join. At the very least, with so many teams in the Midwest, the conference would probably change its name. It could be interesting to see how things play out. But since this is a UConn blog, let us focus more on the ACC end of the scenario.
First, to address the [*] next to Rutgers/St. John's/Navy. The next question is how seriously the ACC wants to take football as opposed to basketball. Rutgers is at the bottom of the league in hoops and football. St. John's has a great basketball program but no football team. So do you add Rutgers or St. John's? Rutgers could fill the league out. Another scenario is add St. John's, plus add Navy (or Army) as a football associate member to balance the numbers. I'd like to see the last one play out, but I doubt it. I'd definitely like St. John's though. They are a more major sports school than Rutgers. Also, it would allow the sixth best college soccer rivalry in America to stay in tact as the Huskies can continue to face the Red Storm every year. That being said, I am not so naive as to think the ACC actually cares about a sport that doesn't generate revenue. But there are other reasons to support the Red Storm too, as I said. And adding Navy for football would give us one of the most historic programs in the country. They're probably not at the level of other schools, but they're an up-coming program. I think they'd welcome an opportunity to join a conference. Both service academies compete in the Patriot League for other sports, but are FBS Independents for football. At various points, they have been associate members of various conferences, so it's hardly a novel concept.
This is just one of many ways it could play out ion the coming days. I will continue to outline a few other possible scenarios, so stay tuned.
Delayed Weekend Roundup - UConn Update through September 20, 2011 (CORRECTED)
Sorry for the delay. Big news over the weekend with regards to the ACC. I'll put up something about that soon. For now, here's the latest.
MAJOR NEWS: There are multiple reports surfacing that UConn may join a super-ACC within the next few years. I will speculate on this soon.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies fell to 4-4-0 on the season after losing to Big East foe St. John's 1-0 in OT. The Huskies were dominated by the Red Storm, outshot 10-3 in Queens before Jen Leaverton added the game winning goal at the 91:23 minute. Next Friday, the Huskies will host Louisville at 7:00 PM before hosting Cincinnati on Sunday the 25th at 1:00 PM. 10 days remain until the nationally televised showdown at Notre Dame on ESPNU at 7:30 PM on September 30th.
Field Hockey: The Huskies suffered their first defeat of the year, losing 3-1 to the #8 ranked Boston College Eagles at home. Cara Silverman added a goal in the loss. The Huskies are in Providence on Saturday at 1:00 PM for a Big East road game. The national poll is due out today sometime, so stay tuned to see where we are.
Men's Soccer: Big game for the Huskies today as they head to Chestnut Hill at 7:00 PM to face Boston College. This is the big road trip of the year for Goal Patrol, so expect a lot of road Huskies fans. We are currently ranked #2 in the nation at 6-0-0. Webstreaming is available on bceagles.com and also a radio is available from WHUS. On a side note, don't expect me to comment on the crackdown on heckling at Morrone Stadium this year, because not being there, I don't know what's going on. But I have no problem with what's been working for the past forever. Family-friendly and squeaky clean are two different things. If I were going a game with a young child, I would make sure we didn't sit near the student section. I can understand why people would feel the same way. But on the rare occasions where someone does say something totally outlandish, we're usually pretty good about getting that individual to shut up or behave. And if we're not, then security can get involved, though in my whole time last year, I only recall that happening once. I don't know all the facts, but I do know what it was like last year. And I see no reason to change a working system. If any Goal Patrol members who are on campus wish to comment, go ahead.
In any case, after BC, the Huskies will host the St. John's Red Storm in the #6 rivalry in America Saturday at 7:30 PM. The school is expecting a sell-out for "White Out Morrone Night" and it should be a rocking.
Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies open up with an exhibition vs. McGill on Friday at 7:00 PM. McGill is supposedly the "Harvard of Canada". But, you know what Lisa Simpson always says. Ah well, it's only an exhibition game. The real fun starts a week later. The Huskies made the Hockey East first round of the tournament, before falling to Northeastern. They will look to improve and reach the NCAA Championship.
Note: A previous version of this post indicated that the men's soccer team's next game after tonight would be against Yale, followed by Louisville. However, in fact the St. John's game is before those two matchups. The error has been remedied. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
MAJOR NEWS: There are multiple reports surfacing that UConn may join a super-ACC within the next few years. I will speculate on this soon.
Women's Soccer: The Huskies fell to 4-4-0 on the season after losing to Big East foe St. John's 1-0 in OT. The Huskies were dominated by the Red Storm, outshot 10-3 in Queens before Jen Leaverton added the game winning goal at the 91:23 minute. Next Friday, the Huskies will host Louisville at 7:00 PM before hosting Cincinnati on Sunday the 25th at 1:00 PM. 10 days remain until the nationally televised showdown at Notre Dame on ESPNU at 7:30 PM on September 30th.
Field Hockey: The Huskies suffered their first defeat of the year, losing 3-1 to the #8 ranked Boston College Eagles at home. Cara Silverman added a goal in the loss. The Huskies are in Providence on Saturday at 1:00 PM for a Big East road game. The national poll is due out today sometime, so stay tuned to see where we are.
Men's Soccer: Big game for the Huskies today as they head to Chestnut Hill at 7:00 PM to face Boston College. This is the big road trip of the year for Goal Patrol, so expect a lot of road Huskies fans. We are currently ranked #2 in the nation at 6-0-0. Webstreaming is available on bceagles.com and also a radio is available from WHUS. On a side note, don't expect me to comment on the crackdown on heckling at Morrone Stadium this year, because not being there, I don't know what's going on. But I have no problem with what's been working for the past forever. Family-friendly and squeaky clean are two different things. If I were going a game with a young child, I would make sure we didn't sit near the student section. I can understand why people would feel the same way. But on the rare occasions where someone does say something totally outlandish, we're usually pretty good about getting that individual to shut up or behave. And if we're not, then security can get involved, though in my whole time last year, I only recall that happening once. I don't know all the facts, but I do know what it was like last year. And I see no reason to change a working system. If any Goal Patrol members who are on campus wish to comment, go ahead.
In any case, after BC, the Huskies will host the St. John's Red Storm in the #6 rivalry in America Saturday at 7:30 PM. The school is expecting a sell-out for "White Out Morrone Night" and it should be a rocking.
Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies open up with an exhibition vs. McGill on Friday at 7:00 PM. McGill is supposedly the "Harvard of Canada". But, you know what Lisa Simpson always says. Ah well, it's only an exhibition game. The real fun starts a week later. The Huskies made the Hockey East first round of the tournament, before falling to Northeastern. They will look to improve and reach the NCAA Championship.
Note: A previous version of this post indicated that the men's soccer team's next game after tonight would be against Yale, followed by Louisville. However, in fact the St. John's game is before those two matchups. The error has been remedied. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
UConn Sports Roundup, Sepetmber 17th (UPDATE 2 PM)
Men's Soccer: The Huskies defeated the Boston University Terriers 1-0. The game against the unranked home team was tightly contested throughout before Allando Matheson scored his first career goal to put the Huskies up for good. Over the last few year, Boston University has given us a lot of trouble so this is a good win. Next up, we travel to Boston College to face the Eagles at 7:30 PM on Tuesday night. That game is available on WHUS org streaming videos on bceagles.com. Read the officicial press release on the game here.
Football: The Huskies suffered a disappointing loss 24-20 to the visiting Iowa State Cyclones to fall to 1-2 on the season. We had a lot of chances but couldn't capitalized, pretty much the same story as the Vanderbilt game. If we keep playing like this it could be a long year. We have a week non-conference schedule and have Buffalo and Western Michigan remaining. If we can win both of those games we only need to go 3-4 in Big East play to make a bowl game. That's certainly doable. But we have to improve our ability to capitalize on our opportunities.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies opened the Hokie Classic with a 3-0 sweep of Chatanooga to improve to 7-4 on the season. Next up they will take on Virginia today at 1:00 PM and host Virginia Tech at 7:00 PM. Then, the Huskies will open up Big East play with a road trip to Cincinnati and Louisville.
Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies open up Big East play tonight at noon against unranked Villanova then will host Boston College on Sunday at 2:00 PM. Both games can be seen live on Huskies All-Access. The Huskies can move up in the rankings with a win thanks to a loss by #1 UNC to #2 Old Dominion. So this is a big weekend.
Update: Field Hockey defeated Villanova 6-0 to win their conference opener. Ali Blankmeyer and Chloe Hunnable led the way with two goals each and Marine Elene Bolles and Justine Angelini added a goal each for the major victory. The game vs. the #8 BC Eagles will be huge tomorrow, and if we win that we may very well be ranked #3 in the nation. On next Saturday (September 24th) we will take on Providence on the road looking to stay perfect, then on September 28th we host UMass, who received votes in the last coach's poll. We then have a somewhat big home game vs. RV Louisville on October 1. The Cardinals were expect to contend for the Big East championship, but it looks like at this point that if someone's going to challenge the ACC from the Big East, it's going to be UConn or Syracuse. The Huskies and Orange face off Sunday, October 23 in Storrs. But the Big East Tournament is in Syracuse the first weekend in November and who wins that could very well host a regional in the NCAA Tournament which carries with it additional home field advantage. That's pretty far down the road though, and they came into our place and beat us last year so it wouldn't be surprising for us to do the same to them.
Football: The Huskies suffered a disappointing loss 24-20 to the visiting Iowa State Cyclones to fall to 1-2 on the season. We had a lot of chances but couldn't capitalized, pretty much the same story as the Vanderbilt game. If we keep playing like this it could be a long year. We have a week non-conference schedule and have Buffalo and Western Michigan remaining. If we can win both of those games we only need to go 3-4 in Big East play to make a bowl game. That's certainly doable. But we have to improve our ability to capitalize on our opportunities.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies opened the Hokie Classic with a 3-0 sweep of Chatanooga to improve to 7-4 on the season. Next up they will take on Virginia today at 1:00 PM and host Virginia Tech at 7:00 PM. Then, the Huskies will open up Big East play with a road trip to Cincinnati and Louisville.
Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies open up Big East play tonight at noon against unranked Villanova then will host Boston College on Sunday at 2:00 PM. Both games can be seen live on Huskies All-Access. The Huskies can move up in the rankings with a win thanks to a loss by #1 UNC to #2 Old Dominion. So this is a big weekend.
Update: Field Hockey defeated Villanova 6-0 to win their conference opener. Ali Blankmeyer and Chloe Hunnable led the way with two goals each and Marine Elene Bolles and Justine Angelini added a goal each for the major victory. The game vs. the #8 BC Eagles will be huge tomorrow, and if we win that we may very well be ranked #3 in the nation. On next Saturday (September 24th) we will take on Providence on the road looking to stay perfect, then on September 28th we host UMass, who received votes in the last coach's poll. We then have a somewhat big home game vs. RV Louisville on October 1. The Cardinals were expect to contend for the Big East championship, but it looks like at this point that if someone's going to challenge the ACC from the Big East, it's going to be UConn or Syracuse. The Huskies and Orange face off Sunday, October 23 in Storrs. But the Big East Tournament is in Syracuse the first weekend in November and who wins that could very well host a regional in the NCAA Tournament which carries with it additional home field advantage. That's pretty far down the road though, and they came into our place and beat us last year so it wouldn't be surprising for us to do the same to them.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Husky Sports Roundup, September 16th, 2011
Football: Big game today as the 1-1 Huskies host the Iowa State Cyclones to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Vanderbilt that frankly, we should have won. Kick off is at 8:00 PM on ESPN2 live from Rentschler Field. For those going to the game, arrive early for a special 9/11 tribute.
Women's soccer: The Huskies improved to 4-3-0 by winning their Big East opener 1-0 over Syracuse. Jessica Dulski had her third shutout on the season, an impressive total for the senior. 11:49 in the game, Danielle Schullman made it 1-0, to put the Huskies up for good. Wind and were definitely a factor for both teams with limited opportunities. Next up the Huskies travel to Queens to face St. John's at 1:00 PM on Sunday. That game will be streamed by St. John's at here.
Men's Soccer: Two New England matchups for the #2 Huskies who go on the road this week. First, today at 7:00 PM they travel to Boston University to face the Terriers. Streaming is available on BU's website. Next, the Huskies will travel to face #11 Boston College at 7:30 PM on Tuesday on the road. That will be a major road test for the Huskies. It will also be the annual Goal Patrol road trip game.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies will get underway in Blacksburg, Va in the Hokie Invitation as they take on Chattanooga (today, 4:00 PM), Virginia (Sat. 1:00 PM), and Virginia Tech (Sat., 7:00 PM). The Huskies are 6-4 this year. After finishing up the pre-season tournament run around, the Huskies will travel to Cincinnati and Louisville on September 23rd and 25th to get Big East season unerway.
Field Hockey: The 5-0 and #4 Huskies open Big East play on Saturday afternoon vs. Villanova at noon. That game will be on Huskies All Access. On Sunday afternoon at 2 PM the Huskies will host the #8 Boston College Eagles. Another critical matchup among ranked teams, and we could move up in the rankings since #1 UNC plays #2 Old Dominion today and one of those teams has to lose.
That's all for now. Go Huskies!
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/091511aab.html
Women's soccer: The Huskies improved to 4-3-0 by winning their Big East opener 1-0 over Syracuse. Jessica Dulski had her third shutout on the season, an impressive total for the senior. 11:49 in the game, Danielle Schullman made it 1-0, to put the Huskies up for good. Wind and were definitely a factor for both teams with limited opportunities. Next up the Huskies travel to Queens to face St. John's at 1:00 PM on Sunday. That game will be streamed by St. John's at here.
Men's Soccer: Two New England matchups for the #2 Huskies who go on the road this week. First, today at 7:00 PM they travel to Boston University to face the Terriers. Streaming is available on BU's website. Next, the Huskies will travel to face #11 Boston College at 7:30 PM on Tuesday on the road. That will be a major road test for the Huskies. It will also be the annual Goal Patrol road trip game.
Women's Volleyball: The Huskies will get underway in Blacksburg, Va in the Hokie Invitation as they take on Chattanooga (today, 4:00 PM), Virginia (Sat. 1:00 PM), and Virginia Tech (Sat., 7:00 PM). The Huskies are 6-4 this year. After finishing up the pre-season tournament run around, the Huskies will travel to Cincinnati and Louisville on September 23rd and 25th to get Big East season unerway.
Field Hockey: The 5-0 and #4 Huskies open Big East play on Saturday afternoon vs. Villanova at noon. That game will be on Huskies All Access. On Sunday afternoon at 2 PM the Huskies will host the #8 Boston College Eagles. Another critical matchup among ranked teams, and we could move up in the rankings since #1 UNC plays #2 Old Dominion today and one of those teams has to lose.
That's all for now. Go Huskies!
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/091511aab.html
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